Vista - Graphics Quality with Digital to Analog adaptor

(Just talking Business Applications, not Video or Games)

When switching to Vista, I had to replace the card that was running my
Second Display in a Dual Display. The PCI-e card that I could find quickly
was an nVidia with Analog and Digital output.

With a PCIe card installed, the integrated adaptor is disabled by the Bios
(not an option) so I had to use both outputs on the new card.

I have two analog-only LCD monitors:
The analog port on the adaptor looks good, no problem
The digital port with the needed adaptor that came with card has soft focus,
small fonts are unlegable. The screen resoluton is set correctly for the
monitor but the focus/blur is worse than setting the wrong Res on an LCD.

Is this normal when using a digital to analog adaptor, or should I try to do
something about it ??

"steveb" <swb_mct@msn.com> wrote in message
news:5D9FB6E3-B495-4833-B6F7-C3F5757A04D0@microsoft.com...
> (Just talking Business Applications, not Video or Games)
>
> When switching to Vista, I had to replace the card that was running my
> Second Display in a Dual Display. The PCI-e card that I could find
> quickly was an nVidia with Analog and Digital output.
>
> With a PCIe card installed, the integrated adaptor is disabled by the
> Bios (not an option) so I had to use both outputs on the new card.
>
> I have two analog-only LCD monitors:
> The analog port on the adaptor looks good, no problem
> The digital port with the needed adaptor that came with card has soft
> focus, small fonts are unlegable. The screen resoluton is set
> correctly for the monitor but the focus/blur is worse than setting the
> wrong Res on an LCD.
>
> Is this normal when using a digital to analog adaptor, or should I try
> to do something about it ??

I have a similar setup, and although I can tell the difference in
quality between the two it isn't nearly as pronounced as what you are
describing. I also found it nearly impossible to get the colors to
match between the two displays. I chalk it up to the additional
connection / conversion that is happening and live with it but you can
bet my next setup will have a video card with dual DVI outputs and two
LCDs with DVI inputs.

I'd make sure you have good solid physical connections (if you haven't
already) as well as disconnecting/reconnecting to make sure you don't
have any dust/oxidation affecting the electrical connections. You might
also try swapping the two displays to see if that makes a difference - I
know they were both working correctly on your old setup (if I'm reading
your post correctly), but it still could make a difference. You might
also play with the Clear Type settings, but I don't think you can adjust
only one display or the other so that might not help. Good luck...

Best Regards,

Dave

Switching the 2 identical monitors between the two ports fixed it. To make
sure it wasn't just a connection issues, I switched them back and it went
bad again.

For some reason one monitor likes the digital > analog adaptor better than
the other.

Thanks

"Dave R." <dwragle at drbsystems dot com> wrote in message
news:45c7700d$0$97253$892e7fe2@authen.yellow.readfreenews.net...
>
> "steveb" <swb_mct@msn.com> wrote in message
> news:5D9FB6E3-B495-4833-B6F7-C3F5757A04D0@microsoft.com...
>> (Just talking Business Applications, not Video or Games)
>>
>> When switching to Vista, I had to replace the card that was running my
>> Second Display in a Dual Display. The PCI-e card that I could find
>> quickly was an nVidia with Analog and Digital output.
>>
>> With a PCIe card installed, the integrated adaptor is disabled by the
>> Bios (not an option) so I had to use both outputs on the new card.
>>
>> I have two analog-only LCD monitors:
>> The analog port on the adaptor looks good, no problem
>> The digital port with the needed adaptor that came with card has soft
>> focus, small fonts are unlegable. The screen resoluton is set correctly
>> for the monitor but the focus/blur is worse than setting the wrong Res on
>> an LCD.
>>
>> Is this normal when using a digital to analog adaptor, or should I try to
>> do something about it ??
>
> I have a similar setup, and although I can tell the difference in quality
> between the two it isn't nearly as pronounced as what you are describing.
> I also found it nearly impossible to get the colors to match between the
> two displays. I chalk it up to the additional connection / conversion
> that is happening and live with it but you can bet my next setup will have
> a video card with dual DVI outputs and two LCDs with DVI inputs.
>
> I'd make sure you have good solid physical connections (if you haven't
> already) as well as disconnecting/reconnecting to make sure you don't have
> any dust/oxidation affecting the electrical connections. You might also
> try swapping the two displays to see if that makes a difference - I know
> they were both working correctly on your old setup (if I'm reading your
> post correctly), but it still could make a difference. You might also
> play with the Clear Type settings, but I don't think you can adjust only
> one display or the other so that might not help. Good luck...
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Dave
>